General Motors – Too Big for Its Self

GM, the world’s largest automaker with sales of over $178 billion (5th largest company in the world) is facing a critical point in its evolution. The question is can it evolve quick enough to respond to the economic realties today and into the future? The GM brand has always had the image of the Big Car Company – the Buick, the Cadillac and most recently the mammoth Hummer. The European and the Asian automakers always started small and build up to reach the American market. GM always started big and slowly worked its way down to the mid-size. The problem today is big means unsustainable from both an economic and environmental perspective. If this were a wine I would drink it today with fear that tomorrow it could be vinegar. It will be difficult to shift GM’s brand values to new market realities but if it connects with its changing consumer it will succeed. A company of this stature understands its core brand values. I hope.

Score - 82